Bail denied for Ark. evangelist in sex abuse case

A federal magistrate called Tony Alamo a flight risk Wednesday, as he ordered the evangelist held without bail until his trial on charges that he took a minor across state lines for sex.

The ruling came after Alamo’s former followers testified at a hearing that they were often beaten at his instructions and one said Alamo practiced polygamy with several females, including a 9-year-old girl.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant noted Alamo is charged with a violent crime and said he also considered Alamo fled a California child-abuse charge in 1989 and was arrested two years later in Tampa, Fla., living under an assumed name.

Brief by The Associated Press